Sooner Than Later, I'll Need a Saviour

“There you are Alice.” I looked from my cigarette to see Candy stumbling down the same alley she found me in two days prior. This kind of just became our meeting place. She plopped down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as a kind of hug.

“Hey Candy,” I greeted. I took a pull from my smoke before offering it to her. She shook her head and placed a hand into her top. It reemerged with a pack of her own. She poised a smoke between her lips before igniting it. After she breathed out the cloud of smoke she smiled to me again.

“How are you today?” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Candy always asked that with excitement and believed that maybe I’d change my answer. So far I haven’t.

“Same old.” That included sleeping, scavenging for food and something to drink, using gas station bathrooms for makeshift showers, and smoking something before ending back in the same spot in a crappy mood the whole time. Candy sighed, another thing of smoke leaving her mouth.

“You haven’t tried asking Frank for anything, have you?” I shook my head and she groaned. “Chica, I told you he’s nice!”

“I know,” I murmured. She had. Frank was a junkie friend of hers who always had his door open to friends of hers. And he was, luckily, a hundred percent gay. She had introduced us yesterday morning. He was extremely nice. He lets people use his shower, gave food and drinks, and even gave out joints and cigarettes. He’d contact interested people if he bought himself some harder shit.

“So why haven’t you used his place for anything?”

“Because I don’t need to,” I huffed. I was more irritable when I didn’t have some kind of illegal substance in my body. Being on day two without anything was killing me. Candy sighed again and let her head gently fall back against the brick wall.

“I don’t see why you can’t just trust people.” I didn’t reply. I knew Candy was talking more to herself anyways. She suddenly stood and stretched her arms over her head, her shirt and miniskirt’s ends raising a little. As she dropped her arms she said, “Let’s go.”

I raised an eyebrow at her as I took another drag from my smoke. “Where are we going?”

“To meet a friend of mine.” She held her smoke between her lips before using both hands to pull me to my feet. I glared at her and brushed the dirt from my jeans.

“Another?” She rolled her eyes before heading off down the alley.

“He’s different, trust me.” I rolled my own eyes. Didn’t we just establish I couldn’t? I sighed before pulling my backpack straps over my shoulders. What did I have to lose? I emerged from the alley to see Candy leaning against the side of the building. She sent me another brilliant smile. “I knew you’d come.”

“Well you didn’t leave me much option,” I scoffed as we began our walk down the grungy street.

“Sure I did. You could have just sat back down and ignore me,” she pointed out. I stayed silent knowing she was right. It was quiet as we continued our walk. Finally she pulled us to a stop as she squished out her cigarette on the ground with the toe of her heels. “Here we are.”

My eyes wondered the street we stood on. It was a small parking lot (only able to fit four cars) next to a boarded up building. I raised an eyebrow as Candy plopped down on one of the chipping, blue curbs that was used when cars had once parked in front of it for the spot. “What do you mean we’re here?”

“We’re here,” she replied like it was the most obvious thing ever and I was just crazy.

“Where is your friend?”

“He lives on the good side of town. I meet him here every Monday and Thursday at about eight. It’s, like, seven fifty right now.”

“Why would he bother coming here if he lives in the good side?” I asked as I sat next to her. She shrugged.

“He’s just a good man.”

“Are you sure he’s not just loco?” Candy chuckled at my use of her own language against her.

“Far from crazy. He gives us stuff for no charge. Money and body needs alike are refused.” It was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. Maybe we’re just supposed to feel ‘grateful’ and have sex with him. It wouldn’t be a charge, we just chose to do it. Or, at least, that’s what he’ll say if we charge him for rape. But why would a cop believe homeless junkies/prostitutes? Candy noticed me shaking my head and smiled. “You have no faith in anyone, do you?”

“Especially not men,” I said coldly with half lidded eyes. She just pulled out her pack again to take another cigarette. She offered me one too and I decided to take it. She passed me the lighter once her cancer stick was lit. Once mine was also ablaze I handed it back to her. After a minute or so a figure was seen approaching us. Candy shot up with a huge grin on her face.

“Zackybear!” Candy exclaimed, running to meet the man half way. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. A deep laughter was heard as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her in circles. It was obvious to say that one of them must like the other. I could not deal with another one of Candy’s fuck buddies. I didn’t bother to stand, just took another puff from my smoke.

“Hey Candy.” His voice was deep, easily matching his tattoo covered arms and tough guy exterior. I have to be honest, his eyes are the purest color of green I’ve ever seen. Even though my eyes were a bright, clear baby blue I still envied him. He noticed me sitting on the curb, looking quite unamused if I do say so, and smiled a bit. The light from the street post caught two silver rings in his lip to show snakebites. “And who’s this?”

“This is my new friend Alice,” Candy chirped. I rolled my eyes, looking away from the two. They were being so sweetly excited by these few sentences I could almost feel myself getting a cavity by their words.

“Well I’m Zack.”

“Charmed,” I said though my monotone voice proved I truly wasn’t. It fell awkwardly silent for a moment before Candy picked it back up. Probably to try to tear Zack’s attention from my usual sour mood. Like I said before, I don’t like people. It’s only worse when I am lacking junk and meeting someone I was under the assumption is a fuck buddy of someone.

“So, did you bring it?” Candy asked hopefully. Zacky was suddenly drawn from his thoughts and smiled widely at Candy.

“Yup.” She squealed as he began to dig in the duffle bag that hung over his left shoulder. He reemerged with a necklace. It held the simple medium sized dove with the chain connecting at the tips of the wings. I scoffed as she clasped it around her neck.

“We came here for a necklace?” Candy frowned playfully at me while Zacky looked on in disbelief. I knew exactly what he was thinking. How could a girl be so mean when her friend is happy about something? That’s where they’re both wrong, Candy isn’t a friend; Candy is simply just an acquaintance.

“Shut up Alice,” Candy laughed. I just rolled my eyes again. “Do you have any smokes?”

“Always for you my friend.” Zacky shuffled around a bit before pulling out a pack of Marlboro Reds. The world’s greatest cigarette. My crappy Pall Malls now seemed like a disgrace to the world. Suddenly Candy tossed the pack, still enclosed in it’s plastic slip, at me. I easily caught it and raised an eyebrow as I removed my smoke from my mouth.

“What the hell is this?”

“A new pack. I know you’re low. No arguments.” I grumbled to myself, placing the smoke between my lips again, and beginning to pack the cigarettes by slapping the end of a pack on my other hand. She was right, as usual. My last cigarette had been finished on the walk over here. It was silent for a few moments. Candy sighed loudly. “Aren’t you going to say ‘thank you’ Alice?”

“Why should I? I didn’t ask him for it,” I scoffed around my cigarette. Candy gave me a stare that showed she was not playing around. I sighed before pausing from packing and removed the smoke from my lips with the tips of my index and middle finger. “Fine, fine. Thank you Zacky.”

“No problem,” Zacky muttered, obviously knowing I didn’t mean it. I looked at Candy with a raised eyebrow.

“You saw and heard it,” I told her, motioning towards Zacky with the hand holding my stick of content. “I said thank you. But he knows I’m just doing it because you said to. If that doesn’t make a guy feel bad I’m not sure what does.”

“I’m sorry about her,” Candy apologized as she turned her back to me. I made a strange face and moved my head mockingly as I went back to packing. “She’s not very…friendly.”

“You could say that as an understatement,” I remarked with an approving tone underneath my words. Candy let out a forced chuckle. Zacky smiled softly.

“Well it was nice to meet you. I need to go visit a few people.” Candy nodded and gave him a tight hug.

“Duces,” I called, flashing him a sideways peace sign. He gave me a strange look before disappearing down the streets. Candy turned to me with a glare, this time it was quite serious.

“Did you have to be such a bitch to him? He was only being nice.”

“I’ve met plenty of nice people.” I stood to my feet and ripped away the plastic from the pack. I tossed down my cigarette that had finally hit the filter and opened the flap of the white box. I ripped away the little piece of paper from the inside and placed a new smoke in my mouth. “Doesn’t make me any nicer to the next person.”

“You’re nice to me,” Candy whined. I chuckled as I lit up my stick with the Zippo that was barely holding on. I slipped that back into my front pocket and the new pack into my back pocket.

“You just haven’t annoyed me yet.” She stayed silent for a moment before smiling brilliantly.

“Well let’s go clubbing!” She shouted, linking elbows with me and skipping off. Candy could manage to make me sick with her roller coaster high and low attitudes. But hey, clubbing sounds fun.