Mystery Boy

The alarm clock was ringing. Ringing the now annoying tone I had thought was catchy just a month ago. Ringing, ringing, and ringing. I slowly raised my eyelids, revealing my green eyes to the world once again. I’m sure that the number of times I’d done this had finally reached a googolplex.

It had all become a pretty little routine. I’d wake up, roll out of bed, contemplate on whether I gave two shits about my hair that day, and either head towards the bathroom or head into the living room and catch my mum as she was headed out the door.

I’d wish her luck at work, and she would do the same, wishing me luck at college. It was my last year, after all. I needed all the luck I could get.

As I headed down from the flat and towards the city street I tried to imagine life once I got out of college. I might go off an do something worthwhile, like I always dreamed of doing. But, regarding our current financial status, I would most likely get into some sort of job that paid enough for me to come crawling back every day. It would be my teenage years all over again.

Sleep. Eat. Education. Eat. Sleep.

Sleep. Eat. Work. Eat. Sleep.

Ah, the wonders of living under the poverty line.

I shook my head, causing the few strands of my dark blond hair to move back to their original places on either the left or the right side of my face. I hadn’t even had enough money to get a decent haircut. It was shaggy and it was reaching a point where it covered my eyes. I wanted it gone, but, it was either my haircut or the dress shirt I needed for a class.

I stared up at the sky, the sun was threatening to shine, amongst the dark clouds and fog that usually covered the streets of London, England. It was like most days, the sun would make a brief appearance, as if to remind us of it’s existence; and then leave.

I pulled my jacket tighter around me as I turned the corner and onto the street where the college and something else were located.

The college was about ten minutes walk from where I was now. But the something else was just coming up.

I first noticed him about four months ago. He would always be standing there, on the porch of a well-rounded home. In jeans and a short sleeve T-shirt, with something in his hands. It appeared he was waiting for someone to open the door, but no one ever did.

I knew this because I had actually stuck around to see if anyone opened the door to this boy. He was a curiosity; standing out there in the freezing cold air as if it were 26 degrees outside with his incredibly tight fitting shirts that seemed to wrap around his tiny frame perfectly and his tight, yet loosely fitting pants that were almost always black.

He appeared to be no younger than myself. I assumed he didn’t go to college, seeing as he appeared to be always standing on that porch. Always with something in his hands.

Today, as I neared the home, I took notice of his white shirt, this one appearing tighter than all the others, possibly a pair of sizes too small. And he was wearing bright red tight pants that had small white braces hanging around them.

He stuck out like a sore thumb standing there, in front of the white house and the snowy surroundings.

As I walked nearer and nearer to the house I would have sworn, that for a split second, the boy’s eyes were facing my direction. It could have been the human instinct of turning to whatever caused a sudden disturbance to the current setting. It happened a lot in college; someone would come in through the door and everyone would turn to look.

I turned my head to the left, getting a better view of this boy. As far as everything I had seen, he was truly something beautiful. From the profile view I had seen of him, he was desperately needful of some sort of nutrition, as there was a hollow area at the center of his cheek. His raven black hair, always messy atop of his head. Yet, once it flowed down the side of his head, it was flawless.

I continued looking in his direction, not really caring that I was staring. I didn’t know the boy anyway, it didn’t really matter.

As the house reached a few steps distance, I decided I’d finally ask this boy when he was going to give up on the girl that always left him standing outside her doorstep, with anything from flowers to chocolates in hand.

I stopped in front of the porch, a curious look on my face. He turned and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Yes?” he asked, a velvet like voice emerging from his chapped lips.

I relaxed, a small smile forming on my lips.

“When are you going to give it up?” I asked, calmly leaning on one of the sides of the porch.

His eyebrow remained raised, “Give it up?”

I casually flicked my wrist, “Yeah, the dame in there obviously has no interest in you. Why keep trying?”

His lips formed into a small smile, gradually growing until he opened his mouth and let out a laugh “This house has been abandoned for about three years.”

Now I raised an eyebrow “What?”

He laughed again “And I’m not interested in any dame.”

Before I could say anything else, he took a step forward, completely facing me, “I spotted a young bloke the other day, completely blew my mind.”

I didn’t know what to say. I had just decided to talk to this boy after a few months of noticing his presence every morning, and, here he was, opening up completely to me.

“He passes through this street almost every morning, and so,” he continued, “I come here every morning, to try and catch his attention, hopefully to get a conversation started.”

“And the roses, and chocolates and the gifts?” I asked, actually kind of curious about who this other bloke was.

“I would have given them to him, but he never bothered to look this way.”

“Oh. Well then, er. Why don’t you have anything today?”

“I was feeling lucky.”

“What?”

“Yeah, lucky. But I do have something.”

“Oh, and, has he passed by yet?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” I looked down at my wristwatch, “well, I have to get going. I’m running a little late.”

He nodded and smiled and I moved away from the porch. I turned around and was about to take a step towards the street when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned to meet the most beautiful crystal blue eyes I had ever seen.

“Here.” he said handing me a piece of folded paper before jumping off of the porch and heading down the street in the direction I had come in.

I opened the paper and inside it read:

It took you long enough. ♥

011-44-7981-897555

I stared at the sheet of paper, at the message and then the numbers. Then looked up to watch the mysterious boy turn the corner. My mysterious boy.