The Puppet Master

Josh stared at his shoes left messily at the door. He was out of the hospital; he had been out for a day. He was still fragile and in a near permanent state of aloofness from the painkillers that ensured he could breath without feeling as if the apocalypse was occurring in his chest.

His father had asked him to go over to Oli's house and thank him in person, and Josh supposed it wasn't the most demanding of suggestions, even if Josh was having a hard time trying to muster the courage.

Oli had always seemed like a warm, sly character but there was still an air of intimidation that put people off of really getting close to him. That's what Josh's father had heard from their neighbours anyway. Most of teenagers of the town, male and female, had crushes on Oli, according to their complaining parents.

Josh couldn't blame them really; he was a 22 year old man and he was as infatuated as they were.

In a brief moment that his self preservation abandoned him; he got ready and walked out of the door with Oli's house as his final destination.

It was a cosy house, rather small but not shabby. He knocked on the door, and not two seconds after the door had opened to reveal Oli, beaming at how Josh's nose and cheeks were turning a rather delicate shade of pink.

"Hello Josh." His words were plain, and the smile hadn't lasted long.
"Um...Hi, Oli." Josh stuttered, partly from the cold outside and partly from how nice Oli looked in such tight jeans. Oli stepped to the side, and motioned for him to come in. "I'm glad you popped by." Oli spoke as he assessed Josh subtly, and some secret implications of the words didn't go unnoticed by Josh. What Oli was implying, of course, he had no idea.

They had walked into the kitchen, and Josh was shocked at how nice it was. The tops were marble, and the cupboards were a light brown wood. In fact, from what Josh had seen, (The hall, the living room and the kitchen) Oli's whole house was amazing. A part of that realization saddened him, because from the outside the size of his house implied not a lack of money, but not a lot of it either. Inside the house suggested otherwise about Oli's financial wellbeing, and so it highlighted Oli's loneliness. Oli didn't have any friends from the town, and as he was the subject of much gossip in the town it would have been made clear to Josh if Oli had any friends.(Josh guessed from the lack of news that the grand total was 0.) He didn't share his house with anyone, not a partner, or even a friend.

"Josh, would you like a cup of tea?" Oli turned to him, and didn't mention his puppy dog eyes from Josh's sudden grasp of the extent of Oli's solitude. Josh nodded, heat gathering in his ears from embarrassment; he had been staring at Oli and he had been caught.

The tea was made and they were sat in the living room, when Oli first asked of Josh's intentions on visiting him. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?" He asked, sipping his tea innocently whilst keeping his gaze fixed firmly on Josh. Josh stared from a few seconds before replying. "I wanted to thank you for saving me, whilst I'm not in a hospital bed." Oli gave a sullen smile, and merely added: "You shouldn't be thanking me Josh, it is what anyone would have done, I just happened to be me." Josh's smile was just as feeble, and in an attempt to have some excuse to stay near Oli for longer, Josh started up a conversation (which is completely unusual for him, conversing to people he doesn't know is something he has not one shred of talent in.)

"Do you like it here, Oli?" Oli's expression didn't break at all; it was the same near-blank-but-with-something-unrecognizable face. "Not particularly the people here, and their gossip, are tedious and have no ounce of interest for people that don't conform to the norm." Taking it all in with interest, Josh nodded, silently agreeing. "So, would you move away?" He pondered, not wanting to pry but desperately wanting to know what kept Oli in such a dull place. Oli set down his tea, and looked straight into Josh's eyes once more:

"Not for the world."