Shy

Tony sighed, he was sitting at a table in his local mall. The food court just behind him and it was buzzing with people. As it was around lunchtime, Tony shouldn't really be sitting there. Fear that someone might talk to him was taking over his senses as his palms were sweaty and he started fiddling with the napkin his sandwich had been wrapped in.

Sighing again, Tony stood up from his metal chair and started making his way out of the food court, his hands deep in his pockets and his head bowed so his eyes were only focused on his feet and new shiny shoes that he had bought several days ago. His lungs were aching for some nicotine.

A bad habit some people said but he couldn't resist smoking whenever he felt cornered by strangers. The fresh air hit his face, the winter was coming and the fall was colder than he had expected. Shuddering, Tony pulled his coat closer around his body and dug in his pockets to reach for his Zippo lighter and a cigarette. Putting it up to his lips and lighting it, Tony let out a quick breath of relief the moment the nicotine entered his system and calmed him down.

Several people passed him, entering or exiting the big mall. Their hands either occupied with carrying stuff or trying to stay warm. Either way, Tony didn't really care, he leaned against the wall and focused on the cigarette between his lips. Hoping that nobody would mistake him for a bum and shove some money in his hands. His ragged clothing sometimes gave people that impression and while Tony never really liked people giving him money, he didn't always protest against it. Smiling a bit at the memory of an old lady trying to give him money but him refusing, Tony put his hands deeper in his pockets, wishing that he had some gloves so his hands would at least be warm.

Teenagers walked in the mall, giggling and ignoring him, just the way Tony liked it. Why was he even there? He hated crowded places where there was more chance of him being talked to by strangers. He hated them more than life itself and that said something about the dark man leaning against the wall. He received some strange glances from the people passing him, some disapproving ones, some questioning. Tony smirked a bit, the cigarette still firmly clenched between his lips and his mind only focusing on getting as many nicotine in his body as it could.

An older man walked up to him, Tony frowned, looking at the man up and down. He was wearing jeans himself, but a neatly tied up and ironed shirt and tie made Tony realize that this man was probably of higher standards than Tony was. Maybe it was the mall director, coming to tell him to get out of there. Without even wanting it, Tony felt his palms go sweaty again as his body started shivering slightly. And it wasn't because of the cold. Pushing himself away from the wall, Tony started making his way towards the double doors that lead to the main hall of the mall. Looking over his shoulder to see if the man wasn't going to follow him.

It wasn't before the man was almost close to him that Tony realized that the man wasn't actually trying to walk to him but was more busy shouting at the group of teenagers close to his car, yelling at them to leave his car alone or he would call the police. Tony relaxed a bit but before both men knew it, they were laying on top of each other on the pavement, eyes wide open and full of shock of what had just happened, ignoring the sound of laughter coming from the group of teenagers at the man's car.

“S-sorry about that,” Tony muttered, “shouldn't have been standing in your way.”

“It's my fault completely,” the man nodded, smiling at Tony with a friendly smile, making Tony's breath caught up in his throat, afraid that he might say something stupid or end up looking like a fool in front of the man. He wasn't good with strangers. Or with people in general. He had always been the shy kid, sitting in the back of the class with a book instead of joining in on the group between lessons. The two men helped each other up, the brief contact was enough for Tony to get more nervous than he already was. He quickly pulled his hand back and pushed it back in the pocket it had been before.

“Hey, you smoke?”

“Y-yes,” Tony nodded, gulping and afraid what the man might do next. Perhaps he was someone who was against smoking and was about to lecture him on the bad side of smoking.

“Cool,” the man nodded before going through his pockets and trying to find something himself. Tony took a step back, not really liking how close the man was. Within a few seconds, the man's hands had reappeared with a cigarette between their fingers. Placing it between his lips, the man frowned as his hands once again disappeared, probably in search for his lighter.

“I can never find that damn lighter,” the man said through clenched teeth; clenched not in annoyance, but rather to keep his cigarette in place as he cupped his hand around the tip and set it aflame with a lighter. When the flare from the lighter was extinguished with the simple wave of his wrist it also died out from his cigarette, and it was with a grateful inhale that he relished in the smoke that the glowing embers enabled to enter his lungs.

“Heh,” Tony looked away from the man, wishing that the man would just go away and leave him alone. Fishing another cigarette out of his pocket, Tony clenched it between his lips. His hand were about to reach for his own Zippo lighter but the man had been quicker and lighted Tony's cigarette before he could do it himself.

“Thanks, I guess,” he muttered, still not meeting the man in the eye. Sometimes he really hated it being this shy, it always made conversations so uncomfortable.

“No problem,” the man nodded before turning around and looking at his car. The teenagers from before were still leaning against it, smoking themselves and Tony was sure one of them was wearing a mask on top of his head that strangely resembled the ones they wore in the movie V for Vendetta.

“You know them?” Tony asked, nodding towards the teens at the car. Even he was surprised by him opening a conversation like that.

“The one with the mask is my daughter,” the man sighed, shaking his head, “but her friends aren't all that trustworthy.”

“Oh.”

Tony's eyes shot back to his feet, why was he even trying to start a conversation with a man that he had only met 5 minutes ago. He started regretting ever coming to the mall, or standing outside. It was all just a bad idea. Maybe he should starting walking backwards until he was in the mall completely and then hide in a shop until he was absolutely sure if the man wasn't going to search for him.

“Andrea! Get out of the car! You're not old enough to drive it yet!” the man shouted before sighing and stalking over towards his car. Tony visibly relaxed and let his shoulders hang, throwing the cigarette on the floor and putting it out with his toe before quickly running towards his own car.

Next time when he was bored. He would just watch a movie.