Aiden

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Kail opened his eyes painfully. He found it strange that he was warm and dry, lying someplace soft. For a moment he was afraid to look around himself for fear that he might have died. As his vision came into focus he denied himself that idea. He was in a room, a very nice room, the light spilling brightly across the foot of his bed and the clean-carpeted floors. He sat up gingerly, his fingers going to his cut as he noticed clean clothes that weren't his at all. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty clean himself, had someone given him a bath? He lifted the too-large shirt to examine his cut. It was open, red, and would leave a scar but it didn't look too deep or infected. He slid his legs from under the covers and let them dangle over the side of the bed as he sat. He needed to find out where he was exactly, and what kind of person took him in. He knew he wasn't in a hospital; he had to be at someone's house. He forced himself to his feet and walked quietly to his door. He half expected it to be locked but it turned freely in his palm. He pulled the door open wide, taking his time, being cautious. He stared out for a moment at the wood paneled walls and carpeted hallway. He leaned out, as though something might fall down to cut him in half, letting his head peer through the doorway and down both directions. He leaned back in again when he didn't see anyone and bit his lip. Should he really go snooping in his underwear? He didn't have to think long before his stomach growled loudly. His hand went to his empty gut as he leaned out again, a little less cautious this time as he stepped out of the room.

"Which way?"

He grumbled low to himself as he peered down both directions, he picked the right, deciding that he would first find someone to feed him. He hadn't gone far, maybe ten steps before he paused, every inch of him tensed. After his sleep he was alert, ready for anything now. A door was cracked just slightly to his right, light spilling out into the hallway as he listened to the sound of typing. It was easy, fluent, someone who knew what they were doing. He lightly leaned against the wall, his back pressed straight as he rested his head on the wood paneling. He listened a moment, the blood rushing in his ears as he strained, until the typing stopped. A male voice rang out to him, so smooth, so absolutely perfect.

"Come in."

He waited a moment, his breath hitched as his fingers pressed into the wood. He had been so quiet, how did he hear him? He only lingered a moment before his fingers pushed the door open and he let himself in. He felt awkward as he stared at the tall man behind a fine wood desk. He stared at the computer monitor, the glow making his face look pale. He wore a shirt, very much like the one Kail was wearing now. His fingers were long and slender as they flew fresh over the keys again. He looked up at him a moment, his fingers never stopping as Kail stood dumbfounded.

"How are you feeling?"

The man was beautiful, with long blonde hair that fell about his face and shoulders and down his back. He was thin but muscular looking, his eyes a piercing gray that screamed something he couldn’t comprehend.

"Fine. Who are you?"

He blushed at his rude comment; he was forgetting this man was probably the one who dragged him out of the alley. Which also meant he was probably the one who bathed him, his blush deepened.

"My name is Daniel."

Kail swallowed as the man stood smoothly and walked towards him, he was really tall, a good head taller than him, and looked to be in his twenties. What was he doing picking up street kids in the middle of the night? Kail watched him as he approached, frozen as his hands reached up to his face, capturing him there as he closed his eyes.

"You don't seem to be running a fever. What do you want for breakfast I'm sure you're hungry?"

He reminded himself to breathe as the hands fell away, his stomach growling again as though it had heard him mention food. He smiled.

"Anything, I'm starving. My name is Kail by the way."

Daniel went back to his desk a moment, his hand lingering over the keys as the other scrolled with the mouse.

"We'll go get breakfast then Kail. You're welcome to stay as long as you like, I'll not throw you out."

His gaze trapped Kail again as he bit his lip nervously. Something about this man intrigued him.

"Understand?"

Kail nodded as he closed out of whatever he had been working on and stood again, walking him to the door and down the hall.

"Lets get you into some clothes first."

Kail blushed again, remembering his attire as he walked a little behind Daniel. He wondered what this guy wanted, why would he do this? He obviously had money, was this his form of charity? Pick up a lost kid on the street and offer him a place to live for the rest of his days. Kail absorbed his surroundings as they came to another door. Daniel walked in comfortably as Kail stood back. He peered along the hall; it ended shortly after the room and opened into a larger area. He could see the beginnings of a stairway as he got his first glimpse of just how grand the house really was.

“Will this work?”
Kail’s attention was pulled back to the room; it was larger than the one he woke up in. The bed was wider, with a large blue silk canopy. A large dresser was across from it on the opposite wall, a trunk at the foot of the bed. A laptop hummed on the far desk, a large black charger attached to it as it blinked. Kail’s gaze attached to Daniel as he held up a plain t-shirt and jeans.

“Yeah, it’ll work.”

He walked into the room, not entirely sure of himself. He had a feeling the room belonged to Daniel. He took the clothes from his hand and held up the shirt as he laid the jeans across the bed.

“I’ll give you some privacy.”

Kail didn’t answer as Daniel left the room, closing the door softly behind him. For a man who was so softly spoken he held quite the commanding presence. He pulled his shirt off over his head, his hair getting tousled further, and let it drop to the bed. It had to be Daniel’s; it was far too large to be meant for him. He blushed a little, thinking of how odd it must have been for a strange boy to be wearing his shirt. He threw that thought aside, he had no proof that the clothes belonged to him. He pulled on the clean t-shirt as he tested its size. It wasn’t too large, or too small, and the clean fabric felt so different against his skin. He hadn’t felt clean cotton in a long time. The jeans would be the real test; he pulled them on gingerly, careful not to disturb his cut and was surprised to find they fit well. He didn’t linger long over the clothes before he looked about himself again. The room was strangely neat, looking as though it wasn’t lived in at all. He found a bookcase that had been hidden to him from when he had gazed from the doorway. His fingers glided over the spines, most being classics and poetry books. Perhaps Daniel was a writer; there were several books on techniques and ways to stimulate thought processes. He then gazed over to the laptop, would he dare? It would be easy to open it up and delve deeper into Daniel’s life but could he really do that? He denied himself that idea as he walked back to the door. His fingers turned the knob easily as he tried to be as quiet as Daniel had been. He wasn’t quite as successful. Daniel leaned easily against the wall waiting for him, his head turned slightly in his direction as he froze him again with his grey eyes.

“Does everything fit?”

The words were more a purr, velvety warm and smooth, but his eyes told something more powerful than his words. Why did he always look like that?

“Yeah…thanks.”

He smiled a little, almost smirked, before pushing away from the wall gracefully. Kail only watched, the hair spilling forward around him when he moved like that, it was strange. It was almost like he was posing, all the time posing for invisible cameras and fans. Kail wasn’t sure he liked it.
“Breakfast will be eggs and bacon, with fresh biscuits and gravy.”

Kail’s stomach sang out loudly again, hearing now what was waiting for it somewhere in that large home. He ignored the sound, hoping Daniel hadn’t heard but it was impossible for him not to.

“I haven’t had real food in a long while. Who else lives here?”

Daniel cocked his head a little at him, his grey eyes studying him with amusement.

“No one, I live here alone.”

It was Kail’s turn to study him, was the man playing with him? He only had a chance to open his mouth before Daniel answered him.

“I see, I live here alone but there are others here to help me. Sandra is the cook; David is my driver and butler. They are my closest friends, besides them there are various others who come in and out of my home; you’ll meet them all I’m sure. Sandra and David are the only ones here at all times, but they live in their own home, on the grounds only a short walk from here. I had it built for them you see.”

Kail only stared at him as he spoke. People rotated around him, floated in and out of his life like the tide. And here he was, being swept in and onto the soft, sandy shores like a piece of beaten driftwood. It was his personality, his entire being that he drew people to him like a planet. Kail knew he was the opposite. His personality wasn’t compatible with others, he was always alone, even his parents had cast him out. If Daniel was a planet then he was a plague. People ran from him like he was a burning building, and truthfully, he didn’t blame them. It always seemed that everything he touched was ruined, everything he tried to do fell apart at the seams.

“If they’re always here, why did you build them a house?”

Daniel smiled and shrugged his hands in his pockets as he turned to continue down the hall.

“They’re married; they both work for the same man and spend much of their time together here. They’ve always done well for me, so when David asked me for a home of his own I was glad to oblige. I offered him a grand home, one equal or maybe even grander than mine, and he declined all of my plans. He told me no more than fifty thousand, fifty thousand dollars was all I was allowed to spend. And so I did, every penny of it.”

Kail stayed quiet as they came to the stairway he had seen earlier. It was wide and elegant, leading down to the lower floor in a smooth sweep, the outer banisters pulling away from each other to the last step. Below them he could see the unimaginably large door; to the left was an equally high domed gateway to a small lounge room, velvet maroon colored furniture lying in wait for a tired guest. To the right another gateway, this one leading to polished marble floors but he couldn’t see any farther. Even from the top of the stairs he could smell breakfast being cooked and prepared for them by the wonder woman Sandra. It took all his strength not to run down the steps towards that smell, how long had it really been since he had eaten? Two days? Three? That is if he had only slept through the night. It could be more now. He managed to keep control of himself to the bottom of the stairs before his strides became longer than Daniels. His eyes were locked on the marble floors, the table appearing as he neared. Daniel only smiled as Kail lost control of himself. He seated himself eagerly at the table, his hands reaching out for the eggs and bacon and gravy dishes. He was already shoving food into his mouth by the time he noticed a rather large woman seating Daniel respectfully. A deep blush took over his face as he chewed the food and swallowed the mouthful painfully, feeling himself slow as Daniel only watched.

“Please, eat. I can’t understand how hungry you must be.”

Despite his kind words Kail slowed himself and found the human side of himself again. He watched Daniel eat carefully, observing the use of various utensils that he only just now noticed. The small fork and the large one, the small spoon and the large, two knives, small plates, napkins, his head was spinning by the time he made it to the biscuits. Daniel seemed comfortable in his own skin as he ate, but Kail wanted a book on etiquette. He would have to pay attention and watch closely to catch up with Daniel. Kail nearly jumped out of his skin when a cell phone rang cheerfully. Kail watched him pull the small phone from his pocket; his fingers flipping it open easily, stopping the ring.

“Hello Charlie, are we sticking to the plan today?”

It seemed odd for him to be doing such a human thing as talking on the phone. He watched him lean back in his chair, feeling far more relaxed than Kail.

“Good. No, no, I’m available. Well, I have a house guest but you know. I don’t want to hear it Charlie.”

He paused again, his gaze flicking up to meet Kail’s. The boy felt himself freeze under that stare.

“Very well, if you insist but really it’s nothing. Right, twenty minutes. Bye.”

He flipped the phone shut with a clean snap, his fingers sliding it back into his pocket as he stood smoothly from the table.

“Kail, feel free to eat your fill. Sandra will fix lunch at noon; if you come here it will be waiting for you.”

His gaze found the plump woman standing next to a polished swinging door he guessed led to the kitchen. She nodded to him kindly.

“Where are you going?”

He question popped out of his mouth before he had time to make it more polite. It really was none of his business, but he didn’t like the idea of being in that large house alone.

“I’ve been called away on business. I won’t be back until late tonight, or possibly early tomorrow morning. Sandra will take care of any needs you may have as will David. You may come and go as you wish, as I’ve said before. You may explore the house as you wish; there are no locked doors here.”

Kail’s gaze fell to his half empty plate. It wasn’t until a hand rested heavily on his shoulder that he became aware of the world again. Daniel stared down at him kindly, his hand against his shoulder.

“I won’t be gone long; I’ll come back as soon as I can. That is if you’ve decided to stay?”

Kail stared down at his clean hands and clothes, the lavish room and furniture, the ornate china he ate from and the table of food. Never in his life had he been so utterly surrounded by so much beauty and bounty.

“I’ll stay, I have no where else to go.”

Daniel smiled, his hand moving from his shoulder to return to its owner. He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Good. We’ll talk more when I return. Goodbye Kail.”

He watched him go, and forced his throat to relax as he passed out of the dining room.

“Bye.”

For a moment he thought he would wake up then, wake up and find that he had never left that cold alley and his clothes were still wet and his side was still bleeding. He stared at his plate for almost five minutes before he picked up his fork again and began to finish his meal slowly.

“Are you all right?”

Kail glanced up and finished his last bite of breakfast slowly. Sandra was looking at him worriedly, her hand taking his empty plate and silverware.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Where did he go?”

She smiled sadly at him and he knew she would give him no answers.

“It’s really not my place to say. He’ll tell you when he feels he can. It seems he’s decided to let you stay, it’s very exciting.”

He furrowed his brow at her as he rolled her words around his mind. Her hands picked up plate after plate, dish after dish in an impossible stack.

“What do you mean?”

She smiled widely; perhaps she would give him at least a little something to chew on.

“He likes to help people you see. Most people will take a meal and be on their way, others will stay for a night or two for some sleep before going. It’s surprising how many people in need will simply throw aside his offer.”

Kail’s gaze fell again. Was he imposing? Was it really a good idea for him to stay here or would he only hinder Daniel?

“Thank you Sandra, I think I’ll look around some.”

She nodded and smiled at him, making her way carefully to the kitchen.

“Do you need any help?”

She made a sound that was almost a hiss at him as she pushed open the door with her back, her hands being full.

“Pish posh, you’re a guest, I’ve been at this for years I think I can handle a little breakfast clean up.”

He smiled lightly at her as she went and headed back to the stairway. He stared up it a long moment, feeling as though each step was a mountain in itself. His hand rested easily against the polished banister, he was sure his fingers had never touched something so fine.


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