We Can Stay Young Forever

"And stay out, ya troubled soul!" The person I've been staying with most recently calls after my bruised body. Humph. For the record, her son was the one who came on to me. I just kissed him back, and gave him one harmless little hand job! No big deal. But oh, no, my caretaker just HAS to go all god-fearing catholic on me, and for the first time in three months, I'm out on the streets again. Today is not a good day for eighteen year old Jack Barakat. At least it's July, and I'm relatively good looking. Someone's bound to take me home.

I think it'd be good to spend a bit of time in Baltimore, I've never really been up in that area of the states before. I'll just hitchhike; I got kicked out of my last home before I could grab by bag, which contained what little money I had, along with my spare outfit and toothbrush. Damn. Guess I have to start from scratch, like the day my homophobic parents kicked me out. Ugh, what assholes. I try to stay optimistic, though. Living on the streets isn't all that bad, especially when someone generous picks you up.

Oh, speaking of which, someone's pulling over for me! Score! He rolls down the window, a clean cut businessman. Real looker, but definitely not my type, and by the looks of the babe in the passenger seat, not available, anyway.

"Where're you headed, son?" He asks.

"Baltimore, sir," I answer honestly, but that's a long way from where he's headed, by the faces the young couple gives me.

"We can take you as far as Indianapolis." The man states. I gratefully accept. I'm glad to have gotten a ride this quickly, and Missouri to Indiana is pretty far! I settle in the back seat, knowing it'll be late at night by the time I get out, making small talk with the couple (Ben and June, coming back from honeymooning in Vegas, thank you very much) and taking a couple hours' worth of a nap.

Ah, here we are, Indianapolis, Indiana! Arriving at 15:00, after an excruciatingly long drive. I thank the couple and am on my way, popping my lanky bones and upsetting my skunk hair.

I had a friend back home in Houston, before I got kicked out, who always called me that. He insisted it suited me, 'cause I always smelled like garbage. Then we'd laugh, and I'd remind Kyle that he was the one who always wore too much axe for most of the girls he approached to bear. It was just a dumb little joke at first, but it grew on me.

I grab another ride to the border, then one to Virginia. By then, it's dark, and I figure Maryland can wait one more day for ~all this~ and set up camp in a cramped, cool alleyway just outside Richmond.

I get a few solid hours of sleep, then decide I'm good to go. I walk along main roads for a while in the early hours of the morning. I'm making hella good time, though. Jeff's City to (almost) Baltimore in a day.

A few minutes from the border, I catch a ride to Towson. I've sure got some luck these days it seems; I never used to get long rides like this. Everyone's favorite outcast reaches Baltimore in record time, just milling around for a while. It's midday, I'm a homeless, penniless teenager... What is there to do?

I flop down on a park bench, bored beyond belief already. I could probably find a cup, ask passerby for spare change, and be somewhat productive, but...eh. Productivity has never been my strong suit, which I suppose isn't uncommon or very good news for people who've been homeless undergraduates for a year.

Scanning the before noon scene in a park in Baltimore is a lot like watching grass grow. Excruciatingly dull. Hm, I suppose after a while, you do see a difference, though, because dayum, who is that boy in the combat boots over yonder? I wonder. He looks a bit older than me, a few tattoos, light brown hair, combat boots, uneven stubble on his chin, and is uh, hello? Just my motherfucking type. I watch him for a few minutes, looking away when he turns my way. He must be waiting for someone.

"I see you," Mystery man calls out, his tone apathetic, before I realize he was talking to me.

I freak out internally, but try to play it cool. "Whatever, dude." I reply coolly, looking away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him smirk.

"Okay, little homeless pervert."

"How did you know that?!" I ask, shocked, and a bit angry.

"You fucking look homeless, that's why. Hmm, lets see," he taps his chin mockingly," A hairy, greasy looking young adult covered in layers of dirt and unwashed clothes sits empty-handed in a park for twenty minutes fidgeting and staring. How long have you been on the streets, man, two days?"

"Fuck you, man," I say, pissed off. "I've been on the streets a year now, and I've come all the way from Texas, so fuck you!"

"Ooh, so eloquent!" He teases. "Quick to anger, too. You want a job, kid?"

"Whatever, asshole," I mutter, and he struts off to the duck pond, where he talks with a random man for a few minutes, discreetly passes him some little packet I cant really make out the contents of from here, and-HOLY SHIT! Did I just witness a fucking drug deal? Was that cocaine, fucking cocaine?

The mystery hunk from earlier turns around to go back to his previous spot a few feet away from me, and the man by the duck pond disappears.

"You're a fucking DRUG dealer?!" I half-shout, and he looks stunned.

Then, a warm, callused hand claps over my mouth, and his warm breath hits my cheek, coming out in ragged pants as he glances around, paranoid. "Fuckfuckfuck," he whispers, then directs his big brown eyes at me. "Try not to be so fucking loud, yeah?" He laughs nervously, taking his palm from my mouth.

I sit in pure shock for a few minutes. "You...," then, a brilliant plan forms in my mind. This is the perfect way for me to make money. "Take me with you." I say in all seriousness, staring deep in those dark eyes.

He stiffens up. "No. No fucking way. Are you crazy?!"

"Say, 'yeah,' please? Don't cut me off!" I inwardly laugh at the choice of words, but the man just pales.

"You're a manic!"

"It's not my fault!"

Mystery man sighs, and gives me a wary look. "This is the road to ruin."

"So?!" I exclaim, "We can stay young forever! Lets be alone together." I grab his hand in both of mine, eyes shining in hope and excitement and batting my long eyelashes.

Alex chuckles, smiling a little at my enthusiasm, then turns serious again. "It's dangerous."

"I can handle it."

"...Fine. First things first, though; we're getting you a fucking shower,"

I laugh. "Of course! Whoopee!" I pull him up, swinging our interlocked fingers. "My name's Jack, by the way."

"Alex." Suits him. Anyway, Alex leads me to a small, crummy apartment, water stains and crumbling plaster on the walls in the iffy part of town. Home, sweet home. I rush to get my clothes off as soon as Alex closes the door behind us.

"Well, he sure isn't shy...," I hear Alex grumble behind me. Grinning, I make a little show out of wiggling my ass to get my skinny jeans off. "You fucking show off!" He says, laughing in slight disbelief.

I shoot him a flirtatious smile, and run towards the first door I lay my eyes on, doing a mental fist pump when I get it right the first time. Turning on the moldy tiled shower, I relax under the ice cold water. It's been so long since I had a legitimate shower, it feels like heaven, despite the temperature...

"Oi, Jack! You better not be fucking matsurbating in my shower, ya punk!"

"Why don't you come find out?!" I call back teasingly, exaggerating the soft moans I was previously making due to the feeling of the water pounding down on my tense back. Alex doesn't respond, and I get out a few minutes later to see a note and a pile of clothes on the couch, with no Alex in sight.

The note explained where he had gone(a quick deal a few minutes away) that I better not have fucked up his shower, and instructed me to put on the clothes he laid out and wait. No, don't touch my stuff, no, don't make a mess, yada yada. I pull on his Face to Face shirt and boxers, too lazy to pull on the skinnies, and flop down on the smelly couch. Lazily, I look around the apartment, naming a cockroach in the corner Wesley and pulling up my feet, vowing never to go into that fucker's domain.

I'm bored, again! Humph. Looks like I'm back where I started this morning when I first met Alex. Bored and alone. We started at the end. Slumping back into my seat, I glare at the broken tv screen across from me. Stupid druggies, buy more illegal substances, damnit! Alex is trying to make a living, here! I roll my eyes I irritation, and they land on something on the crooked coffee table.

Hey, what's this notebook got in it? I wonder if it's a diary, hehe. "Dear diary, today some dummy totally ripped me off; gave me a broken tv for ten grams!! No cable, either; how am I supposed to watch my favorite shows, America's Top Model and The Bachelorette! Doy! Alex," I crack up at the prospect, and quickly open the stained, overused notebook.

Ohh, damn. Looks like my favorite dealer's my new favorite poet, too. The stuff in here...I mean, damn! The guy's good. I only read a few poems before I hear the key turn in the lock, and I quickly place the notebook back where I found it. Something tells me Alex wouldn't like me reading it.

Alex strolls in and examines me, satisfied I'm at least covered, and nods. "You look good without a coat of grime."

I blush deeply, feeling his eyes on me, whether in a sexual way or not, I did not know. I focus on my wiggling toes, and say, "Thanks."

He sits next to me, and whoa fuck I can smell his cologne and he's so close, I could just lean over and-

A pair of warm lips meets mine fleetingly, and I stare at my newfound friend in shock. "U-uh, okay, what?" My brain is fried.

Alex laughs, his voice a shade nervous. "I kissed you?"

"Why?"

Alex gets a faraway sort of glint I his eyes, and recites a line from his poetry. "My heart is like a stallion, we love it more when it's broken..."

I practically jump on him at this, knocking his head back into the armrest, and I lay on top of him, staring into his deep eyes, so full of sadness. How did he even get involved in this business? He's such a sweetheart, honestly. He took me in when no one would, saved me from the city... I attach my lips to his passionately, until we have to pull away for air. "Do you wanna feel...do you wanna feel beautiful tonight?"

Alex looks appalled at first, realizing who I just quoted, then kisses me, rough and needy this time. I giggle and pull away first, laying my head against his chest and tracing patters with my fingers across his collarbones.

"So....," He trails off. "Be my boyfriend? I know we haven't known each other for long, but I really like you...We can stay young forever."

Aww, he just quoted me right back! I grin, nodding furiously. "Let's be alone together."