15It wasn't necessarily a deep stare; it was rather shallow. A dull glance that almost resembled baby-doll eyes. The glass kind if you could still find them today in those dime stores. Those still exist, right?
The young man saw him. Him as in someone he never even knew. Didn't even know a fucking name. Him. Him, him, he-fucking-he-him.
He laughed at him. He shook his head. He told Seth to put down his guitar. He terrified him.
Him.
The living room was already bathed in faded light. Hell, the sun was barely in the sky due to the early cloudy weather, but if you looked closely enough, there was enough sunshine stirring out to see some ashen light. Just another fine reminder to let you know you slept in too late.
The young man was still sitting in the chair that he slept in last night. His trusty chair. The one where he had his nightmare. That's what that. . .stranger was, right? A nightmare? Wallace only woke up so technically it wasn't real. Really. After all, this was the last place he was all along. The chair.
Seth breathed in softly and swallowed some air after trying to calm himself. Nearly swallowed his damn tongue if he had to think of that stranger again. That bastard who teared through his house. His house.
It was a dream. Wallace was here the whole time. Even if his guitar was somewhat out of place, he was in this chair as he rewoke- no, woke. Woke for the first time.
Staring out again to the window with clinging pale blonde hair pressed against his face, it was obvious Seth knew more than what he was willing to let himself believe.
-
It didn't take very long to get dressed today. After throwing on a long-sleeved shirt of red plaid despite the warm weather, faded blue jeans, and a pair of brick-red Doc Martens, Seth was ready. He didn't even comb his hair, while it was looking stringy anyway. It'll do. It was summer. Nobody would give half a shit.
Yes, it was Monday and it wasn't as if the young man were fifteen. It wasn't like it was summer vacation and oh, Sethy, grab your BB gun! Shoot trees down by the pond and some small creatures! Those days were over unless you had your own children or were just insane. Seth convinced himself he had or was not either of the two.
Already he dialed in to work to report that he was 'sick' which sounded kind of lame after five minutes of eatting sloppy-wet Lucky Charms. Oh, well. The company didn't have to believe it. They just let him stay home. Plus after sleeping in so late, what else was he going to do? Show up?
Seth had bigger plans today ahead of him! He planned just to hang out to chill his nerves in town. Go over to the local, goony bookstore or eat at that cafe. Someone told him not to eat there since they barely passed local inspection last time and were more than likely to be closed down soon, but beggars can't be choosers. Plus they had a good clam chowder even if the place looked kind of dumpy. The sort of place you'd find in a numbed-down soap opera from the '80s.
Finally after convincing himself to stomp out of the house, the young man was already on his way. Half-relieved he wasn't going to be dressing for work. Ha, he hated to wear suits. Especially just the way he looked in them. Like a few pieces of tall grass in a vase. It never worked out.
For a summer out here, the weather felt hot and grainy. Whereas, Seth felt comfortable enough to parade around in his 'costume.' One-step, two-step. He trailed down the walkway of town with a grin on his face. He was sure anyone nineteen-years-old and up alike were jealous that one of the members of the Adult Clan were free to do whatever the hell he pleased.
Ah, maybe today won't be so bad. At least he wasn't afraid of his nightmares. Jesus, he felt like a pussy. Who the hell is afraid to get up and live out a day?
The longer Seth stepped out in town, the longer he noticed it took him to get to the small strip-mall. Hmm. This was somesort of an inconvenience for him and a bus did look pretty good. . .
Quickly, he plowed over to a bus stop with his head lowered and hands in his pockets. A slight smile creeped along his face. He imagined he resembled that of a drippy rockstar who's locks were uncombed and dirty. In the real world, he was just sloppy and unfit. Too old for the kids and too weird for the adults.
When that bus finally did make it, Seth jumped aboard and sat, where else? Near the middle to the side. Ignoring the filth was impossible so instead of shielding his eyes, he accepted what was there. People were crowded along him on the bus just as if they were doing the same. Don't ignore; accept. Shouldn't take long, though. Today was a good day and arriving in Main Street shouldn't be more than a few minutes.
Closing his eyes as if mocking his troubled moods from last night, the young man stretched lightly in his seat and tried to relax. A minute went by...then two...probably a few more until he opened them in a daze. Blinking irregularly, Wallace's eyes fell over the bus. Empty.
The bus stopped moving as well, and, what the hell, the bus driver was gone, too! With a few loud curses, the young man standed up and glared lightly while his eyes adjusted to light. Lovely-lovely. He must have fallen asleep again and now the bus was at the end of the line. What do they call that? The bus station? He was at the bus station?
Groaning loudly, he rubbed his head furiously and managed to escape the bus by kicking the door with his boot. Now there's an ingenius idea. Stepping off the bus with a quick step and he was out but just as soon as he was, he realized he wanted back in.