Chapter 23: Episode 23 - Lighter
'Is it too sappy to say I miss you already?'
Amari blushed hearing the message and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, but didn't move from under the blanket.
'Jesus, yes.'
'You say that, but I know it made you smile.'
'No it didn't.'
'Liar.'
'Whatever. Shouldn't you be working?'
'Probably. Are you working tonight?'
'Yeah. You?'
'I have a gig. How's your rib?'
'Okay. It'll be another few weeks before it's completely healed, but I can work.'
'Yeah, I guess you didn't have any trouble breathing last night.'
'Shut up.'
'Never. Tomorrow is Monday. I have the day off. We should go on a date.'
'Are we dating?'
'Are we not? I don't usually make out with random people on the street.'
'You just never said it. I didn't know.'
'Do you not want to?'
'No, I want to.'
'Good. We'll talk about it tonight.'
'Yeah, okay. I've gotta get ready.'
'Ok.'
Amari put the phone down and sighed, smiling as he stared into his black cocoon. After a moment, he pushed the covers away with a groan and rolled himself off the bed. Throwing on the first clean clothes his hands touched, he slipped his phone into a pocket and cracked his door, letting the light seep in. Quickly adjusting, he headed down the hall to the kitchen.
"You're finally awake, lazy bum." Ziggy placed a pan on the table, setting it down in front of a figure he assumed was Nicky. He had returned to a dark and quiet apartment, so he couldn't tell if the man was still there.
"Sit. I made quiche."
He gave Ziggy a questioning look, pulling out the chair beside their visitor. "You made quiche?"
"What's wrong with that, hein?"
A cup of fresh coffee slid to Amari's hand and the boy nodded his thanks, taking a sip.
"There's nothing wrong with it. It just isn't something you normally do."
Taking the seat across from his guest, Ziggy sipped at his own cup. "Sometimes I feel like doing something different, tsé?"
"Okay." Amari was sure he was doing it to impress the man at the table, but he didn't say anything else and just drank his coffee.
His friend cleared his throat. "Antèka, you are really not going to acknowledge our guest? I thought you would be in a good mood this morning, hein? Considering."
"Who said I'm in a bad mood?" He gave a quick wave of his hand to the figure, not looking in his direction.
"You probably don't remember him, but this is Nicky." The introduction sounded more energetic than usual. "He's a sound engineer. We used to work together years ago, but sometimes he helps at the club."
"Oh." Poking the pan to test if it was ready to serve, his stomach grumbled. "Sorry I didn't recognize you."
The visitor chuckled. It was a nice laugh - not fake or condescending like many of Ziggy's other friends. "I didn't expect you to. We haven't really talked or anything."
Amari's hand was shooed away and his friend turned to grab something from the counter. "Sorry. You know Scotty, hein? His day wouldn't be complete without being rude to someone."
"It's fine." Nicky reached out and took the object away. "Let me do it."
He cut the quiche into pieces, handing a plate to the others before taking his own. The boy dug in quickly, blowing out steam as he took large bites, not patient enough to wait for it to cool.
Ziggy laughed and leaned close. "Wouldn't you like a glass of water, mon chéri? You are going to burn your mouth and get indigestion."
He shook his head. "I never get indigestion." Finishing off the piece and setting his fork down, he leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh.
"There's no way you even tasted that," his friend said, pretending to be offended. "It's like feeding a dog."
Amari only shrugged and drank down the rest of his coffee.
Shifting in his seat, Nicky took his first bite of food. "I'm glad you let me in so I didn't have to wait in the cold. I wasn't sure you would."
"Who shows up at someone's home at one in the morning?" Amari asked, his tone intentionally judgmental. Ziggy punched him lightly in the shoulder, but Nicky only laughed.
"Sorry about that. I had a fight with my old lady and needed a place to crash. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go."
"You haven't got any other friends?" The boy received another punch. He growled under his breath and flashed Ziggy a scowl.
"Sure I do. But none that would take me in so early in the morning."
"Not very good friends then," muttered Amari. He instinctively leaned back to avoid his friend's fist, but it never came.
"You're right. That's why I'm here." Every response from the man was calm, not bothered by the questioning.
Ziggy grabbed Amari's plate and cup and went to the sink. "Nicky is going to be staying with us for at least a few days. Until his wife takes him back."
"And if she never takes him back?"
He wasn't sure why he disliked the idea of Nicky staying with them. The man seemed nice enough. Or at least pleasant. Maybe because no one ever stayed more than a night or two, so it didn't matter if he didn't like them. Maybe the idea of having to treat one of Ziggy's guests as a roommate made his stomach turn.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, hein?" The sweetness was gone, his friend clearly annoyed with the string of rude comments. He must feel differently about this particular visitor to already be upset by his bad manners. "Do you want more coffee?"
He shook his head and stood. "I'm gonna go visit Cate before heading to the club. I'll get coffee there."
Nodding in Nicky's direction, he started to leave, grabbing his coat and keys. Pausing in the doorway, he turned back.
"I'm not very polite but, uh, I'll try to be nicer."
He went out the door quickly, not waiting for any response. As he trudged down the steps, he cursed himself for always being so rude. It was a habit he should break, but he didn't know how.
The metal door opened to blinding sunlight. It didn't appear to have snowed more, but the dusting from the night before hadn't melted. Closing his eyes, he pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket. Even wearing them, the brightness seeped in. He crouched down next to the door and put his head between his knees, blocking everything out, his temples throbbing. His sensitivity was getting worse. Thankfully, it wasn't always this bad, but he wondered how long it would be before this became his normal.
Eyes still closed, he used a hand to guide himself along the building to the coffeehouse door. As soon as he entered, he let his eyes adjust, then headed back to the kitchen. Cate was prepping for the lunch rush and had him sit at the counter, giving him a tall coffee and a muffin.
"You're always feeding me sugar," he complained, still a bit unsteady from his headache. "Don't you serve anything healthy here?"
Cate laughed lightly, swaying around the kitchen as she worked. "That muffin is plenty healthy. You should enjoy this kind of food while you're young, hein?" She took away his empty plate as he finished, tossing it into the sink.
"Want me to do the dishes?"
He didn't wait for her to respond, walking over to rinse the pile of pans and bowls and utensils. The shop had an industrial dishwasher, but the woman obsessed over dishes going in with too much food on them. When he needed to relax, or just take a break from Ziggy, he would come and help out.
"I heard you and Yangyang mended your relationship. C'est magnifique. He's a good kid."
"It's not like we were fighting." He wiped some splattered soap from his cheek, amazed at how quickly Ziggy had spread the news. "And he's a little too old to be a kid."
"Ah, you're all kids to me," she said in her motherly tone, still flitting around the kitchen.
Amari couldn't see her well, but he could tell that her movements were more graceful than others, like she was dancing instead of walking.
"And I think intentionally ignoring someone is still a kind of fighting, tsé?" He sighed, not able to argue with her. "Antèka, you definitely look better this morning. Like your soul is lighter."
He was fairly certain she couldn't see his soul, and he didn't feel like he was acting any differently, but she was right that he felt better. It would be nice if his soul was lighter, if that was even possible.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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