[fic] futuristic orange gravity visor PART THREE
yes, yes, the usual. unedited. under the cut. yadda yadda yadda.
section three「Brass」
Night was starting to turn into early morning when Brass was saying his goodbyes to the children he played with during dayhours.
"See you tomorrow, brother!" one of the younger ones shouted as he ran to catch up with his real family.
"Night! Stay on the planks!" Brass replied, waved, and then turned to go around an apartment corner. These streets, compared to the lower neighborhood ones, were quite clean and were void of the homeless. Only the middle class and higher could live in these clean areas with modified and specially built buildings. Those with more mulah built private mansions to their exact specifications, usually meaning they looked and acted as if human gravity was normal.
As Brass was walking up his apartment building steps he spotted the bright red hair from that morning. It was that girl who yelled at him and the kids, then ran off before he could really say anything. She was across the street with her eyes staring at the planks. She looked utterly hopeless. Did she not have a place to stay the night?
Taking pity on her, Brass jogged across the street and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey," he said, and she spun around, nearly punching him in the face. "What are you doing here?" It looked like she was going to say something insulting, but then she recognized his face and said:
"You! It's you!"
"Yes, it's me. Do you not have a home to go to? Don't think this neighborhood is safe just because it looks clean," he said and gave her a reassuring smile.
She crossed her arms. "It's not like I don't have a home to go back to... I'm not that pitiful, you know."
"Yeah, if you say so. You just don't want to go home, right?" He tried to get her to look him in the eyes but she kept looking away. "I can understand. You can stay at my apartment, if you would like." She finally looked at him, but it wasn't really a recognition he was there, it was more like a loathe to him being alive.
"Your parents. What will they say?"
Brass shrugged and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. "I don't live with mine."
"How old are you?" She eyed him carefully.
"Probably not much older than you." His voice was calm, not once wavering in pitch or sounding fake.
"What's your name? Where do you live?"
He realized these types of questions were nessicary for her to trust him, but in the middle of the night wasn't exactly the best of places.
"My name is Brass, I live right there. This really isn't the best place to be right now." He looked around suspiciously. She did the same thing.
"Alright." As soon as she agreed Brass grabbed her upper arm and started pulling her toward his building. He continued to drag her down the stairs to the lowest floor, well below the common plank boardwalks. As soon as she was let into his apartment she went straight to the windows to look down into the dark sky.
Overall, it was a beautiful view; as if one were hanging above a bottomless, black sea. "There's no view like this in my apartment," she said. Brass took off his coat and hung it on the coatrack before following her to the window.
"Do you live in the poorer neighborhoods?"
"I do." He thought or a moment.
"What's your name?"
There was a short pause where it seemed Brass' answer was going to be left unanswered. But she suddenly turned around and plopped herself down on the couch. She looked around the apartment, which looked like how an apartment would look like if gravity was normal. While everything seemed to be on the ground, everything was actually on the roof.
"It's Laramie," she said and turned to look at him. Finally, she gave him a smile. It was the first smile he'd seen from her and he couldn't help but smile back.
"Are you hungry?" he asked as he headed to the kitchen.
"Famished."
"I'll start making some pasta, then."
While Brass was making food, Laramie sat in the living room, on a leather couch, staring at the ceiling. She looked lonely and insecure. As if she didn't want to be there. But, where else would she go?
"Laramie, come eat." For a second Brass laughed at himself. He sounded so much like a parent he was nearly frightened.
Them eating was silent and uneventful, but when they were done and the dishes were cleaned their absentminded chatter had nowhere to go except deeper. They were both sitting in the living room when Brass suddenly spoke up:
"So Laramie, why didn't you go home?"
She looked up at the ceiling, showing signs of avoidance. "I'm fighting with my dad. He's with a slut, and I told you about my mom this morning. What about you? Why are you here by yourself?"
Brass shrugged. "A little more complicated than your situation. But I pretty much bounced around between relatives, and finally ended up on my own."
"That's sad. You must be lonely. At least sometimes," she commented and looked down from the ceiling to him, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"I guess. But aren't you alone, even with family around? How can that not be more sad?"
"Shut up. You don't know the pain of family leaving and then betray--"
"I do!" Brass shouted and Laramie jumped a little at the suddenness of his yelp. "I do understand. Family breaking up, someone you trust betraying you. I got fed up. That's why I left." His voice broke and he started to cry. "I left... because I didn't want to deal with it anymore." Tears rolled across his cheeks and onto the couch. He was crying, tears were falling, but his face was still, calm, solid. As if he were wearing a mask, staring blankly in front of him.
Laramie took pity on him and carefully made her way to the spot next to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close to her, resting his head on her shoulder. There, he let himself cry freely.
Brass could feel his sobs soak into the girl in front of him. He could feel her struggling to maintain composure, so he pulled back and looked at her in the eyes. For a split second there was a flame between them and Brass took advantage of that, pushing her down against the couch and landing his lips on top of her's.
He felt like the world was spinning. Like nothing was going right, and maybe, after this, things would be put back together again. If the day hits a rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up.
But after they had done the dirty deed, Brass sat up, ripping the sheets off his naked body, and withered at the side of the bed. Nothing felt right. He felt so dirty, and he he made Laramie dirty, too.
Laramie crawled across the small bed and smacked him on the head. "Snap out of it, you sap. What're you crying for? Do you not like getting laid by a girl, or something? Are you gay?" He looked up at her as he rubbed his head. She sat up and pulled the covers around herself. "It's not like it's my first time, you know." It was as if she was proud of not being a virgin.
"I'm not gay. You were fine..." Brass climbed back under the covers and laid down on his side, facing away from her.
For a long time there was silence were both were thinking their individual thoughts on the future. "I promise I'll go home in the morning."
"I want to go to the carnival with you tomorrow night."
A small pause before, "Okay," and the two fell asleep.
In the morning, Brass woke up cold and alone. And, as he made breakfast, he found two boxes of granola bars missing. At this, he smiled fondly before continuing to get ready for the day.
section three「Brass」
Night was starting to turn into early morning when Brass was saying his goodbyes to the children he played with during dayhours.
"See you tomorrow, brother!" one of the younger ones shouted as he ran to catch up with his real family.
"Night! Stay on the planks!" Brass replied, waved, and then turned to go around an apartment corner. These streets, compared to the lower neighborhood ones, were quite clean and were void of the homeless. Only the middle class and higher could live in these clean areas with modified and specially built buildings. Those with more mulah built private mansions to their exact specifications, usually meaning they looked and acted as if human gravity was normal.
As Brass was walking up his apartment building steps he spotted the bright red hair from that morning. It was that girl who yelled at him and the kids, then ran off before he could really say anything. She was across the street with her eyes staring at the planks. She looked utterly hopeless. Did she not have a place to stay the night?
Taking pity on her, Brass jogged across the street and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey," he said, and she spun around, nearly punching him in the face. "What are you doing here?" It looked like she was going to say something insulting, but then she recognized his face and said:
"You! It's you!"
"Yes, it's me. Do you not have a home to go to? Don't think this neighborhood is safe just because it looks clean," he said and gave her a reassuring smile.
She crossed her arms. "It's not like I don't have a home to go back to... I'm not that pitiful, you know."
"Yeah, if you say so. You just don't want to go home, right?" He tried to get her to look him in the eyes but she kept looking away. "I can understand. You can stay at my apartment, if you would like." She finally looked at him, but it wasn't really a recognition he was there, it was more like a loathe to him being alive.
"Your parents. What will they say?"
Brass shrugged and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. "I don't live with mine."
"How old are you?" She eyed him carefully.
"Probably not much older than you." His voice was calm, not once wavering in pitch or sounding fake.
"What's your name? Where do you live?"
He realized these types of questions were nessicary for her to trust him, but in the middle of the night wasn't exactly the best of places.
"My name is Brass, I live right there. This really isn't the best place to be right now." He looked around suspiciously. She did the same thing.
"Alright." As soon as she agreed Brass grabbed her upper arm and started pulling her toward his building. He continued to drag her down the stairs to the lowest floor, well below the common plank boardwalks. As soon as she was let into his apartment she went straight to the windows to look down into the dark sky.
Overall, it was a beautiful view; as if one were hanging above a bottomless, black sea. "There's no view like this in my apartment," she said. Brass took off his coat and hung it on the coatrack before following her to the window.
"Do you live in the poorer neighborhoods?"
"I do." He thought or a moment.
"What's your name?"
There was a short pause where it seemed Brass' answer was going to be left unanswered. But she suddenly turned around and plopped herself down on the couch. She looked around the apartment, which looked like how an apartment would look like if gravity was normal. While everything seemed to be on the ground, everything was actually on the roof.
"It's Laramie," she said and turned to look at him. Finally, she gave him a smile. It was the first smile he'd seen from her and he couldn't help but smile back.
"Are you hungry?" he asked as he headed to the kitchen.
"Famished."
"I'll start making some pasta, then."
While Brass was making food, Laramie sat in the living room, on a leather couch, staring at the ceiling. She looked lonely and insecure. As if she didn't want to be there. But, where else would she go?
"Laramie, come eat." For a second Brass laughed at himself. He sounded so much like a parent he was nearly frightened.
Them eating was silent and uneventful, but when they were done and the dishes were cleaned their absentminded chatter had nowhere to go except deeper. They were both sitting in the living room when Brass suddenly spoke up:
"So Laramie, why didn't you go home?"
She looked up at the ceiling, showing signs of avoidance. "I'm fighting with my dad. He's with a slut, and I told you about my mom this morning. What about you? Why are you here by yourself?"
Brass shrugged. "A little more complicated than your situation. But I pretty much bounced around between relatives, and finally ended up on my own."
"That's sad. You must be lonely. At least sometimes," she commented and looked down from the ceiling to him, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"I guess. But aren't you alone, even with family around? How can that not be more sad?"
"Shut up. You don't know the pain of family leaving and then betray--"
"I do!" Brass shouted and Laramie jumped a little at the suddenness of his yelp. "I do understand. Family breaking up, someone you trust betraying you. I got fed up. That's why I left." His voice broke and he started to cry. "I left... because I didn't want to deal with it anymore." Tears rolled across his cheeks and onto the couch. He was crying, tears were falling, but his face was still, calm, solid. As if he were wearing a mask, staring blankly in front of him.
Laramie took pity on him and carefully made her way to the spot next to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close to her, resting his head on her shoulder. There, he let himself cry freely.
Brass could feel his sobs soak into the girl in front of him. He could feel her struggling to maintain composure, so he pulled back and looked at her in the eyes. For a split second there was a flame between them and Brass took advantage of that, pushing her down against the couch and landing his lips on top of her's.
He felt like the world was spinning. Like nothing was going right, and maybe, after this, things would be put back together again. If the day hits a rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up.
But after they had done the dirty deed, Brass sat up, ripping the sheets off his naked body, and withered at the side of the bed. Nothing felt right. He felt so dirty, and he he made Laramie dirty, too.
Laramie crawled across the small bed and smacked him on the head. "Snap out of it, you sap. What're you crying for? Do you not like getting laid by a girl, or something? Are you gay?" He looked up at her as he rubbed his head. She sat up and pulled the covers around herself. "It's not like it's my first time, you know." It was as if she was proud of not being a virgin.
"I'm not gay. You were fine..." Brass climbed back under the covers and laid down on his side, facing away from her.
For a long time there was silence were both were thinking their individual thoughts on the future. "I promise I'll go home in the morning."
"I want to go to the carnival with you tomorrow night."
A small pause before, "Okay," and the two fell asleep.
In the morning, Brass woke up cold and alone. And, as he made breakfast, he found two boxes of granola bars missing. At this, he smiled fondly before continuing to get ready for the day.